Qualities of elementary supervising principals desired by elementary teachers

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Vitamin D Status in Lean and Obese Mexican American Children

Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide problem amongst adolescents and adults, particularly in minority populations due to high skin melanin content. Melanin blocks the absorption of UVB photons, which limits natural vitamin D accumulation, requiring more dietary intake of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk for chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. Low levels of vitamin D are inversely correlated with systemic inflammation possibly mediating the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and disease. Adequate levels of vitamin D may decrease the risks of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, common cancers, and autoimmune diseases. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of vitamin D deficiency, because vitamin D can become sequestered deep in subcutaneous adipose tissue, where it is biologically inert. In the US, Mexican-Americans are at a higher risk for both obesity and obesity-associate chronic diseases, making them an ideal research population. Objective: Investigate the relationship between serum vitamin-D status and systemic inflammation in Mexican-American children of differing obesity status. Patients and Methods: Serum vitamin D concentration will be measured using a commercially available ELISA kit. Vitamin D status will be determined using norms established by the Institute of Medicine in 2010. Serum TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 concentration will be measured using a Luminex Multiplex assay (Millipore Milliplex)

Corticosterone Levels in Sedentary, Wheel, and Treadmill Acclimated Mice following a Bout of Forced Treadmill Running

Murine models have been used to study the immune response to exercise under various diet and training interventions .Our laboratory has previously studied the effect of forced exercise versus voluntary exercise on fasting blood glucose measurements. However, forced exercise may result in increased corticosterone levels. This may affect glucose levels and subsequent weight gain. Male, wild-type CD-1 mice were randomly divided into the following groups: forced exercise, wheel running, and sedentary. After a 8- weeks of the intervention, all mice were placed on a treadmill and forced to run for 30 minutes. Blood was collected from the mice prior to exercise, immediately following exercise, and one hour post exercise. Plasma corticosterone levels were assessed using an ELISA. 3-color flow cytometry was used to assess blood leukocytes. We found that despite treadmill acclimation in the forced exercise group, there was no significant difference between groups in corticosterone or leukocyte levels when forced to run on a treadmill. All groups showed a spike in corticosterone levels immediately following exercise which returned to baseline at one-hour post

Exercise Attenuates Weight Gain and Fat Accumulation in CD1- Mice Consuming a High-fat Diet

Background: Exercise training, in combination with a healthful diet, is a reliable method of weight loss or weight maintenance. It is unknown whether an exercise training program would sufficiently attenuate weight gain during chronic consumption of a high-fat diet. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of an aerobic exercise training program to prevent excessive weight gain both before and during consumption of a high-fat diet in CD-1 male mice. Methods: Mice were divided into four groups (N=10 mice/group): 4-weeks of treadmill running followed by 6-weeks sedentary (EX-SD), 4-weeks sedentary followed by 6 weeks of treadmill running (SD-EX), 10 weeks of treadmill running (EX), and 10 weeks sedentary (SD). After the first four weeks of the study, all groups began consumption of a high-fat diet to elicit a weight gain response. The exercise program consisted of 1 hour of treadmill running 5 days/wk at ~15m/min. Body weight and body composition we measured bi-weekly. Results: EX-SD, EX, and SD gained a significant amount of both body weight and body fat after only 4 weeks of high-fat feeding (P\u3c0.05). SD-EX was the only group that did not gain a significant amount of body weight or body fat during the 6-week high-fat feeding period. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates the importance of exercise training in counteracting concurrent diet-induced weight gain, as seen in SED-EX. EX approximately matched SD in body weight gain and body fat accumulation, suggesting that exercise interventions must be progressive in order to prevent an adaptation to the training program than minimizes exercise benefits. Future research will evaluate progressive exercise training programs and their implications in various mouse models

Developing autonomous learning in first year university students using perspectives from positive psychology

Autonomous learning is a commonly occurring learning outcome from university study, and it is argued that students require confidence in their own abilities to achieve this. Using approaches from positive psychology, this study aimed to develop confidence in first‐year university students to facilitate autonomous learning. Psychological character strengths were assessed in 214 students on day one at university. Two weeks later their top three strengths were given to them in study skills modules as part of a psycho‐educational intervention designed to increase their self‐efficacy and self‐esteem. The impact of the intervention was assessed against a control group of 40 students who had not received the intervention. The results suggested that students were more confident after the intervention, and that levels of autonomous learning increased significantly compared to the controls. Character strengths were found to be associated with self‐efficacy, self‐esteem and autonomous learning in ways that were theoretically meaningful

Analysis of Allogenicity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Engraftment and Wound Healing in Mice

Studies have shown that allogeneic (allo-) bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) may enhance tissue repair/regeneration. However, recent studies suggest that immune rejection may occur to allo-MSCs leading to reduced engraftment. In this study, we compared allo-BM-MSCs with syngeneic BM-MSCs or allo-fibroblasts in engraftment and effect in wound healing. Equal numbers of GFP-expressing allo-BM-MSCs, syngeneic BM-MSCs or allo-fibroblasts were implanted into excisional wounds in GFP-negative mice. Quantification of GFP-expressing cells in wounds at 7, 14 and 28 days indicated similar amounts of allogeneic or syngeneic BM-MSCs but significantly reduced amounts of allo-fibroblasts. With healing progression, decreasing amounts of allogeneic and syngeneic BM-MSCs were found in the wound; however, the reduction was more evident (2 fold) in allo-fibroblasts. Similar effects in enhancing wound closure were found in allogeneic and syngeneic BM-MSCs but not in allo-fibroblasts. Histological analysis showed that allo-fibroblasts were largely confined to the injection sites while allo-BM-MSCs had migrated into the entire wound. Quantification of inflammatory cells in wounds showed that allo-fibroblast- but not allo-BM-MSC-treated wounds had significantly increased CD45+ leukocytes, CD3+ lymphocytes and CD8+ T cells. Our study suggests that allogeneic BM-MSCs exhibit ignorable immunogenicity and are equally efficient as syngeneic BM-MSCs in engraftment and in enhancing wound healing

Consumer evaluation of complaint handling in the Dutch health insurance market

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>How companies deal with complaints is a particularly challenging aspect in managing the quality of their service. In this study we test the direct and relative effects of service quality dimensions on consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in a company in the Dutch health insurance market.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey design was used. Survey data of 150 members of a Dutch insurance panel who lodged a complaint at their healthcare insurer within the past 12 months were surveyed. The data were collected using a questionnaire containing validated multi-item measures. These measures assess the service quality dimensions consisting of functional quality and technical quality and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations consisting of complaint satisfaction and overall satisfaction with the company after complaint handling. Respondents' trust in a company after complaint handling was also measured. Using factor analysis, reliability and validity of the measures were assessed. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between these variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, results confirm the hypothesized direct and relative effects between the service quality dimensions and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company. No support was found for the effect of technical quality on overall satisfaction with the company. This outcome might be driven by the context of our study; namely, consumers get in touch with a company to resolve a specific problem and therefore might focus more on complaint satisfaction and less on overall satisfaction with the company.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, the model we present is valid in the context of the Dutch health insurance market. Management is able to increase consumers' complaint satisfaction, overall satisfaction with the company, and trust in the company by improving elements of functional and technical quality. Furthermore, we show that functional and technical quality do not influence consumer satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company to the same extent. Therefore, it is important for managers to be aware of the type of consumer satisfaction they are measuring when evaluating the handling of complaints within their company.</p

The variable influence of dispersant on degradation of oil hydrocarbons in subarctic deep-sea sediments at low temperatures (0-5 °C)

The microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at low temperatures was investigated in subarctic deep-sea sediments in th e Faroe Shetland Channel (FSC). The effect of the marine oil dispersant, Superdispersant 25 on hydrocarbon degradation was also examined. Sediments collected at 500 and 1000 m depth were spiked with a model oil containing 20 hydrocarbons and incubated at ambient temperature (5 and 0 °C, respectively) with and without marine dispersant. Treatment of sediments with hydrocarbons resulted in the enrichment of Gammaproteobacteria, and specifically the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas, Halomonas, and Cobetia. Hydrocarbon degradation was faster at 5 °C (500 m) with 65-89% of each component degraded after 50 days compared to 0-47% degradation at 0 °C (1000 m), where the aromatic hydrocarbons fluoranthene, anthracene, and Dibenzothiophene showed no degradation. Dispersant significantly increased the rate of degradation at 1000 m, but had no effect at 500 m. There was no statistically significant effect of Superdispersant 25 on the bacterial community structure at either station. These results show that the indigenous bacterial community in the FSC has the capacity to mitigate some of the effects of a potential oil spill, however, the effect of dispersant is ambiguous and further research is needed to understand the implications of its use